Love of fame may spur one to deeds of pith, "where courage, tried / In Reason's court, is amply justified."
— Churchill, Charles (1731-1764)
Work Title
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for the Author
Date
1763
Metaphor
Love of fame may spur one to deeds of pith, "where courage, tried / In Reason's court, is amply justified."
Metaphor in Context
But should thy soul, form'd in some luckless hour,
Vile interest scorn, nor madly grasp at power;
Should love of fame, in every noble mind
A brave disease, with love of virtue join'd,
Spur thee to deeds of pith, where courage, tried
In Reason's court, is amply justified;
Or, fond of knowledge, and averse to strife,
Shouldst thou prefer the calmer walk of life;
Shouldst thou, by pale and sickly study led,
Pursue coy Science to the fountain-head;
Virtue thy guide, and public good thy end,
Should every thought to our improvement tend,
To curb the passions, to enlarge the mind,
Purge the sick weal, and humanize mankind;
Rage in her eye, and malice in her breast,
Redoubled Horror grinning on her crest,
Fiercer each snake, and sharper every dart,
Quick from her cell shall maddening Envy start;
Then shalt thou find, but find, alas! too late,
How vain is worth! how short is glory's date!
Then shalt thou find, whilst friends with foes conspire
To give more proof than virtue would desire,
Thy danger chiefly lies in acting well;
No crime's so great as daring to excel.
Vile interest scorn, nor madly grasp at power;
Should love of fame, in every noble mind
A brave disease, with love of virtue join'd,
Spur thee to deeds of pith, where courage, tried
In Reason's court, is amply justified;
Or, fond of knowledge, and averse to strife,
Shouldst thou prefer the calmer walk of life;
Shouldst thou, by pale and sickly study led,
Pursue coy Science to the fountain-head;
Virtue thy guide, and public good thy end,
Should every thought to our improvement tend,
To curb the passions, to enlarge the mind,
Purge the sick weal, and humanize mankind;
Rage in her eye, and malice in her breast,
Redoubled Horror grinning on her crest,
Fiercer each snake, and sharper every dart,
Quick from her cell shall maddening Envy start;
Then shalt thou find, but find, alas! too late,
How vain is worth! how short is glory's date!
Then shalt thou find, whilst friends with foes conspire
To give more proof than virtue would desire,
Thy danger chiefly lies in acting well;
No crime's so great as daring to excel.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "court" and "reason" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
9 entries in ESTC (1763, 1765, 1766, 1769).
See An Epistle to William Hogarth, 2nd edition (London: Printed for the Author, 1763). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Poems of Charles Churchill, ed. James Laver. 2 vols. (London: The King's Printers, 1933).
See An Epistle to William Hogarth, 2nd edition (London: Printed for the Author, 1763). <Link to ESTC>
Text from Poems of Charles Churchill, ed. James Laver. 2 vols. (London: The King's Printers, 1933).
Date of Entry
08/26/2004
Date of Review
06/15/2009
